Tiden omkring 4000 år före händelserna i George Lucas första tre Star Wars-filmer (Episod IV-VI) har varit högintressant allt sedan datorspelet Knights of the Old Republic gavs ut. Nu är ett massivt onlinespel på väg och det har skapat nytändning i en värld som utspelar sig i Star Wars universum, men är så tidig att den inte är belastad med personer och figurer vi redan kan mycket om. Den gamla republikens era finns att undersöka som tecknad serie, och nu även i bokform. Här skapar en huttmatriarks auktionsverksamhet uppmärksamhet i hela galaxen och drar till sig både Jedi och Sith.
   Tassaa Bareesh, a matriarch in the Hutt crime cartel, is holding an auction that's drawing attention from across the galaxy. Representatives of both the Republic and the Sith Empire are present, along with a Jedi Padawan sent to investigate, a disenfranchised trooper drummed out of the Republic's elite Blackstar Squad, and a mysterious Mandalorian with a private agenda. But the Republic's envoy is not what he seems, the Empire's delegate is a ruthless Sith apprentice, the Jedi Padawan is determined to do the right thing and terrified that he can't, the trooper hopes to redeem her reputation, and the Mandalorian is somehow managing to keep one step ahead of everyone.
   None of these guests - invited or uninvited - have any intention of participating in the auction. Instead they plan to steal the prize, which is locked inside an impregnable vault: two burned chunks of an exploded star cruiser, one of which may hold the key to the wealth of an entire world.
   But the truth about the treasure is dangerous and deadly. And in the end, Sith and Jedi, Republic and Empire, must do something they've never done before, something that all the agents of good and evil could never make them do: join together to stop a powerful threat that could destroy the galaxy.